


Finding Sunlight in the Darkness

by lunarfoxx16



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Accidents, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cafe AU, College AU, Depressed Oikawa Tooru, F/F, Fluff, Haikyuu - Freeform, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru Angst, M/M, Multi, RIP, Romantic Fluff, Welcome to, at some point, but its not big, coffee shop AU, give oihina some respect, haikyuu rarepairs, hellhole, i have no idea what im doing anymore, ill ad as i go on, ill add that later, it ends before it begins, literally everyone shows up, my bad - Freeform, oh boy, oh shit i forgot shiratorizawa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2020-10-29 08:04:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20793371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarfoxx16/pseuds/lunarfoxx16
Summary: Oikawa Tooru works at a simple cafe. Its a local coffee shop with artisan coffee and tea called Blue Castle Cafe. Every morning Tooru works his shift, before attending his classes. It had never been anything over exciting. That is before a redheaded ball of sunshine brightened up his mornings.





	1. Chapter 1

In Miyagi Prefecture, in a small town, was a small coffee shop, Blue Castle Cafe. It was a local cafe, but very popular amongst the community and visitors. As Oikawa Tooru clocked in for the day, he noticed how busy it was for this early in the morning on the chilly spring day. He turned to his coworker, Matsukawa Issei, “It’s gonna be a long day, Mattsun. Can you call Makki and see if he can come after all?” He yawned as he stumbled behind the counter, still groggy from sleeping in late and nearly being late to work as well.

“We already promised him the day off though,” Sighed Matsukawa, “Besides, last night he passed out so fast after his other shift.” Oikawa nodded. He knew that Matsukawa’s roommate and boyfriend ran on a fast and hectic schedule. He worked at the cafe and as a music store clerk. Even with all that, he’s in a band as well. Today was one of the rare days where he had nothing planned, and he planned on doing nothing, especially after passing out from exhaustion. 

Oikawa sighed as he put on his mint green uniform apron and tied it, “Guess we better be on our A-game then.” He quickly brightened up as his childhood friend walked in. “Hey there Iwa-chan!!” He cheered as Iwaizumi made his way to the counter. He was in college now, studying to become a doctor. He came in regularly to the cafe right as it opened, to get coffee before his morning classes.

“Hey, Oikawa.” He gave a little smile to the cheerful brunette. Oikawa quickly flashed a peace sign before spinning around.

“The usual, Iwa-chan?” He asked, already knowing the answer as he grabbed a cup off the tower. Iwaizumi chuckled a bit and nodded, glad that the brunette was back to his normal self.

Oikawa, a little over a year ago, had confessed feelings to his childhood friend; romantic feelings. Iwaizumi had liked him too, but that was before Oikawa confessed. So, having believed that he didn’t have a chance, Iwaizumi shoved his feelings away and let go. So when Oikawa finally did confess, Iwaizumi had already moved on, forcing him to accept Oikawa’s feelings but turn him down. This left Oikawa broken and helpless. He spent weeks not wanting to eat or get out of his bed. Luckily, he had his friends there, Mattsun and Makki, to ease his pain and force him to take care of himself. He had finally begun to recover and start working again at the cafe a few weeks ago, Makki and Mattsun taking his shifts and covering up his absence. When he finally was able to face Iwaizumi again, Mattsun and Makki were right there by his side, along with some of the other workers at the cafe, like Kindaichi, and Watari. Oikawa and Iwaizumi still had an air of awkwardness between them, but very slowly was it lessening. They both knew that things would never be completely normal between them again, especially with how tense the air around them hung. They both were hurt, and still in pain, Oikawa especially. They both tried to hide it; both tried to say they were fine, even though deep down, their hearts were still broken, trying to heal. 

“Uwah!!” Said a small redhead as he walked, more like ran, into the cafe. “This place is huge!” said the boy as he inhaled deeply. “And the smell of fresh coffee beans!” He exclaimed quite loudly. 

The sudden appearance of the ball of energy startled Iwaizumi as well as Oikawa, dragging them out of their silence. Iwaizumi turned around to get a better look at the small boy, whereas Oikawa nearly dropped Iwaizumi’s coffee. Oikawa put the lid on the cup before he could spill it and quickly gave it to Iwaizumi with a small smile. He turned to the redhead and observed him. He had bright orange hair that stuck up all over the place and light brown eyes that were wide with excitement and wonder. ‘Not only that, but he is very small.’ Oikawa thought to himself. The boy caught sight of the colorful board that stated the day’s special brews, causing him to smile even more. 

Oikawa leaned on the counter and waited until the boy began to make his way to the counter to order. “Should middle schoolers be awake this early in the morning?” He asked teasingly. The redhead had just walked in, Oikawa didn’t even know the guy, yet he was already teasing him.

The smaller boy, on the other hand, had just met Oikawa and was already irked. “I’m not in middle school!!” He argued. “I know I may be small, but I am older than you think!” He stated, voice full of confidence as he attempted to puff out his chest. 

Oikawa let out a small laugh but tried to cover it with a cough. ‘This boy is kinda cu- no. He’s energetic. That’s all. I barely even know the kid.’ Oikawa pinched himself under the counter to keep from thinking too much. He hated it. He still wasn’t over Iwaizumi, and he was too afraid to let any of his feelings be known. He barely even let himself think of anything that could be translated into anything other than platonic. He glanced up as he saw the boy was standing right in front of him, by the counter, leaning slightly on it to get a better look at Oikawa. His large brown eyes were taking in every detail of the tall brunette’s face. Oikawa pulled himself out of his thoughts to realize that he had been majorly spacing out and his focus happened to be on the redhead. Blood rushed to his face as he saw Iwaizumi and Matsukawa staring at him in silence. Oikawa quickly broke the awkward silence by asking what the redhead wanted, messing up the wording in the process, causing Mattsun’s already present smirk to grow. “S-so! What would you drink, you like?” He stuttered out. Matsukawa died right then and there. (R.I.P. Matsukawa Issei)

While Mattsun at least tried very hard to hide his laughter, choking in the process, the ginger didn’t try at all. He burst out, doubling over in loud laughter that filled the cafe. Even though loud laughter like the redhead's would usually annoy many, his seemed to lighten it, warming the room. Oikawa gave a sheepish grin as the redhead managed to speak. “You messed up the words a bit, silly!!” He giggled childishly. 

“Sorry about that,” Oikawa waved it off, cheeks tinted red, “But really, what would you like?” He tried to ask again, this time succeeding.  
The small ginger thought for a second, the weird expression on his face causing Oikawa to laugh. He seemed to finally come to a conclusion, “Black coffee please!” He chirped, surprising Oikawa. 

“Are you sure? Black coffee is pretty strong.” Oikawa hesitated. 

“I’m positive!! I love coffee!!” He stated happily. Who would’ve thought that this small boy enjoyed the strong taste of black coffee? Oikawa chuckled to himself, ‘This kid is interesting, that’s for sure.’ He thought as the ginger was struggling to cram the change back in his wallet. 

Oikawa turned around to begin making the boy’s order. He contemplated adding sugar to it, but seeing as the boy didn’t ask for it - and was hyper enough already - Oikawa didn’t add any. He finished it up and walked back to the part of the counter the boy was standing at.   
“Here you are!” Oikawa gave his trademark smile as he handed over the boy’s finished order.

The boy grinned wide, “Thank you...Ummm…” He trailed off, realizing he didn’t know Oikawa’s name.

“Oikawa! Tooru Oikawa.” The brunette smiled.

“Oh!! That’s a cool name!” The redhead blurted. “My name’s Hinata!! Shouyou Hinata!” He began to take a sip of his fresh, hot coffee. Hinata learned the hard way that the coffee was still way too hot. “Ouch!!” He cried out as the coffee burnt his tongue.

Oikawa laughed watching the mess of orange hair panic and flail his arms. It almost looked like something out of a cartoon. Eventually, the ginger calmed down, and Oikawa gave him a small smile. “You okay there?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay!!!” Hinata nodded his head, causing some of his fluffy hair to fall on his face. He blew it out of the way before taking a small sip of his coffee, after it cooled down, of course. Unknowingly to him, Oikawa watched Hinata as he sipped at it. Feeling the stare, he looked up at Tooru, swallowed and made a weird face. “I-it tastes… great!!” Hinata continued to make a weird face, taking in more of the strong coffee. A few minutes later, he quickly set the coffee down off the counter in front of Oikawa and bowed. He blurted out a quick “Thank y-you very much!!” before running out the front doors, already late for his class, not giving Oikawa a chance to reply.

“Wait-” Oikawa called out as the door closed with a loud bang. He sighed, “The trash is literally right there..” He tiredly pointed to a garbage can by next to the door. 

“Well, I think you were the closest one to him.” Came a taunt from Iwaizumi, Matsukawa nodding in agreement. 

“You guys are so mean!!” Oikawa cried out dramatically. He went to go throw away the coffee cup when he realized that the small redhead never even finished his coffee. Oikawa froze, cup in hand, shaking it slightly to see how much was left. When he felt the weight of what was left, he was speechless. 

“Oi! Earth to Crappykawa.” Called Iwaizumi from where he sat at the counter, snapping Oikawa from his daze. “You’re staring at that kid’s cup like it’s from space.” Iwaizumi pointed at the cup still in Oikawa’s hand.

Oikawa’s eyes went wide as he frantically threw the cup in the trash, oblivious to Matsukawa’s smirk. “I-I wasn’t!! I wasn’t staring at it like that!!” He tried to defend himself, “It’s just... The cup was practically full still!!” He waved his hands around, trying to cover up his small stutter, but failing miserably. Iwaizumi and Matsukawa shared a knowing glance with each other. Oikawa quickly closed his mouth, dropping his hands with a sigh. "You know what? You two need to stop it with that look!! I can't tell what you're thinking and it's scaring me!!" He feigned horror in his voice.

Iwaizumi and Mattsun stared at him, Mattsun snorted and Iwaizumi just stared at him. Oikawa gave up and turned, making his way back to the counter. As soon as he got there, Mattsun's laughing died off as he stared, his typical deadpan expression now back in place. 

Oh, this would be an adventure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata and Oikawa bond more, but Oikawa gets a bit stuck in the past. So what will happen when two old friends come by with some news?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahahahahsbjk I haven't updated in forever asjnjjkmakwldnkslmkanlkds WHOOPS Anyways, I promise I'm gonna try and update more I swear. Uhhhhhh but yeah. I'm not the happiest with this chapter but it gives some good old flashbacks! Whoo-hoo!!

Day after day, Hinata continued to visit the coffee shop before his classes. Oikawa began to get more acquainted with him since he came daily to the cafe. He found out that Hinata was a freshman, starting out in college, while Oikawa was a junior, and he was truly shocked at how old Hinata really was. Oikawa always listened intently while the energetic boy would describe his college life. Both males studied at the same college campus, each majoring in something different. While Oikawa was studying Sports medicine, Hinata had gotten a sports scholarship, as he played volleyball. 

"So have you ever played volleyball?" Hinata asked one day, out of the blue, but still as bubbly as ever.

"Ahh... I used to!" Oikawa replied, a sad tone laced in his voice. He picked at some fluff poking out of the chair he sat on during breaks.

"Oh?" Hinata tilted his head like a dog as he asked, "Why don't you anymore?"

Oikawa stayed silent as he chewed on his lip. He disliked talking about his past life as a setter. He used to play all throughout his elementary, middle school and high school years, however, when he reached college, his career ended when his knee finally gave out. He had previously injured it when he was in his first year of High School, overworking himself and taking some bad falls. Since the injury, he had to wear a knee brace and support when he played, to keep it from giving out or hyperextending it. 

Even though the pain was relentless, Oikawa kept pushing himself closer to his limits, and in his first year of college, it was all over. It was halfway through the season, and Oikawa's reputation was growing enough to get a glimpse of what being a true professional volleyball player was like. He was in a match, and as usual, he had already worked himself to the bone during practise and before the game. 

The score was 24-23. Oikawa's team made a recovery and was catching up with their opponent. One of his teammates made a clean receive and Oikawa was in a position to make the perfect set. Just as he was about to jump up to toss the ball, burning pain shot through his knee. Of course, he ignored it and made the set. When landing, his bad leg touched down first and the pain was more than he ever felt before. 

Oikawa ended up off-balance, hearing his knee pop as it gave out. His team scored the point and the teams were tied. While his teammates were cheering, Oikawa was on the floor, vision blurred from the pain. The cheering gradually hushed as they realized that their best setter was still on the floor. 

One of the spikers made his way towards Oikawa. "Hey dude, are you okay?" He asked, holding out a hand to help Oikawa stand. 

"I don't know," Oikawa admitted. He took his teammate's hand and attempted to stand. He got up, but the pain hit him like a bullet. He winced as he fell back down. His coach called for medical staff to come on court, and as Oikawa was lead to the bench, he looked back at the court knowing he wouldn't be back in the game. 

After he was taken to the hospital, Oikawa found that he tore his ACL when his knee twisted. Soon after some scans and x-rays, the doctors concluded he needed to go into surgery. 

All this had happened not long after Iwaizumi and Oikawa had stopped speaking. Makki and Mattsun found out that Oikawa had injured himself, and visited him in the hospital after the surgery anytime they could. Oikawa couldn't handle the fact that he would probably never play volleyball again, causing many breakdowns alone in his room at night.

He was eventually released from the hospital and spent most of his days watching Netflix on the couch, as Makki and Mattsun visited with food and card games. 

Oikawa needed some money as his sports scholarship wouldn't apply anymore, so Mattsun told him that Blue Castle Cafe needed some workers. Oikawa's parents already had college funds saved away, just in case, and it came to good use with the money he earned at the cafe. He was able to finish his sophomore year in college, but inevitably he had to rethink his future.

"Yes, Professor?" Oikawa asked as he was called to his professor's desk.

His professor sighed, "Tooru, I know it's hard, but you and I both know you can't play volleyball anymore." Tooru's heart sank as the reality of it crashed into him, and he realized where this discussion was headed. "Have you given any thought as to what you would like to pursue now?"

"No, sir... I haven't thought about it at all..." Oikawa replied, quietly. He had been pushing away any thoughts about his studies, as he didn't want to be reminded that his volleyball career was over.

"I see..." The professor paused thoughtfully. "Have you ever considered other sports studies? There are plenty of other courses in the sports world other than playing. Like a commentating, analytics, or sports medicine."

Oikawa thought this over, and eventually, he came to the decision that he would take on sports medicine. He swore he would help prevent other players with big dreams to fall and leave those aspirations behind.

Oikawa was pulled from his nostalgia by a familiar voice.

"Don't worry about telling me" Hinata chirped. "I get if you don't want to!" He waved off the topic and began rambling on about food. 

Oikawa smiled slightly at the boy's thoughtfulness behind the stupidity and bluntness. 

A curious voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "You okay? You're totally spaced out and your face is like, super red."

Oikawa jumped slightly, not expecting (though he should have) the loud voice of the red-haired boy. He knew his face felt hot, but he thought it was just the steam from the coffee. "Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a bit distracted by the- uh, coffee- steam, stuff," He trailed off, any trace of coherence gone. He paused, trying to think of a subject that was not volleyball, but still interesting to the small student. Before he could come up with a sentence that actually sounded like a legitimate language, the cafe door opened.

"Ah! Welcome to Blue Castle Cafe!" Oikawa quickly turned his attention to the incoming customers, standing, ready to go back to his post. "What can I get yo- Bokuto!!! Akaashi!!! What are you doing here?? I thought you- Aren't you?? Tokyo?" Last Oikawa heard from Bokuto, he and Akaashi's university had a week-long holiday, and wouldn't visit Oikawa until then.

Bokuto laughed at the brunette's frenzy. "Yeah, we weren't supposed to have a break until next week, but the professors let us leave early since our training camp starts next week."

"Hello, Oikawa-san." Akaashi politely greeted, "Since we had more time, Bokuto-san wanted to visit the cafe you told us about."

"So here we are Tooru!! No getting rid of us now!" Bokuto wrapped an arm around him and ruffled his hair, laughter booming throughout the cafe. 

Oikawa squirmed under Bokuto's hand, laughing as well. "Stop it! I was having a perfect hair day and you just ruined it!" He smiled before giving his friends a hug.

Hinata sat watching the trio, excitement bubbling within him, "Uwuaahh! You know Oikawa too?"

Oikawa paused, realising Hinata didn't know Bokuto or Akaashi. "Oh yeah! Hinata, these are my friends I met in Highschool! Koutarou Bokuto and Keiji Akaashi! Bokuto, Akaashi, this is Hinata! He's a regular here at the cafe!" The newly introduced males traded smiles and waves.

Bokuto observed Hinata before turning to Oikawa, "You didn't tell us that you had middle school regulars!!! What a crazy place!" He leaned with his arm propped up on Akaashi's shoulder.

Hinata grumbled, "Who are you calling a middle schooler!! I'm in college!"

"Oho!!" Bokuto laughed, "If you say so chibi-chan!"

Hinata pouted as the others laughed at the antics. Oikawa laughed as he wasn't the only one to mistake Hinata as a middle schooler. 

"Oh yeah! Tooru!" Bokuto remembered, "I heard that Kageyama would be visiting the campus soon."

Oikawa's face fell, the playful mood dissipated.  _ Kageyama? No, he can't come here!  _ As Hinata gazed at Oikawa, his distress grew even more at the thought of his former underclassman coming for a visit.  _ Damn King. Right when everything started going smoothly. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'll try and write Chapter 3 soon sknjwkjsiw but until then, have a cliffhanger!!


End file.
